For The Love of Their Son
by MsKRyan.ox
Summary: {Sequel to 'The Love of A Daughter'} When Natalie's son, Charlie, is taken in a business deal gone south, she looks for help from the only team she could trust, but how does she face the man she ran out on and the family that she turned away from after the biggest heist in the history of Las Vegas? Who said being Natalie Ocean was easy?
1. I: Critical Condition

Chapter One: Critical Condition

* * *

_"Reuben, my father always told me that when it comes to Willy Bank, you can't rely on contracts," Natalie reasoned with him as she continued to make a sandwich for Charlie who was standing at her feet holding her pant leg with his thumb in his mouth. His dusty blonde hair and clear blue eyes reminded her, so much of his father; Charlie was his miniature version._

_"My lawyers say their iron clad," Reuben assured her, "Give me some credit for my business saviour, huh?"_

_"I just don't think, it's a good idea," Natalie explained, "Neither would my father or Rusty for that matter." Charlie looked up at the mention of the name Rusty. It had been mentioned several times before, but it was always in relation to him, not to something that his uncle Reuben was doing and his mother didn't agree with. They barely disagreed at all, except for when his uncle Reuben tried to take him into the casinos._

_"Well, I'm doin' it, it's done," Reuben stated, "And you haven't spoken to your father and Rusty in over four years, how would you know what they think would be a good or bad idea?"_

_"Because I know them, Reuben," Natalie countered, "And they wouldn't think this was a good idea."_

_"Well, I'm not going to be like Rusty and have to pull jobs just keep my hotels solid."_

_"Hey Reuben," Natalie said, before placing Charlie and his sandwich at the dining room table. Charlie watched with fascination as his mother sat his stuffed walrus, Tip, beside him and went to follow Reuben. Charlie looking down at his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, took it in his hand, before getting out of his chair and following after his mother and Uncle Reuben._

_"You're still young, Natty," Reuben ranted, "You don't understand. Do you know that the Inuit people put their elders out on an ice float to die where they're too old to hunt?"_

_"That's just a myth."_

_"Well, that ain't goin' to happen to me," Reuben said adamantly, "I can still hunt. This is it; it's my chance. Natalie, I use to mean something in this town. I would walk into a restaurant; if it was full they would snap out a new table just for me like that." _

_"Look, Reuben, if you're worried about your place in history, let's get a street named after you or a boulevard," Natalie suggested. She really didn't like the idea of Reuben working with Willy Bank. He was willing to do anything to get on top and with Charlie constantly being around Reuben; Natalie didn't feel comfortable about the entire situation._

_"We can talk about that when I'm dead," Reuben told her, "Natalie, I appreciate you trusting me with everything that happened, but I got to do this." Natalie looked at the older gentlemen unsure. She wouldn't trust Willy Blank with exterminating a cockroach that wasn't in one of his hotels, so why would she trust him to uphold a contract agreement he made with Reuben. _

* * *

_Natalie was sitting in her room watching an old movie with a cup of tea sitting on her bedside table, when she heard the window smash. Slowly getting up, she walked toward her closet to grab the Louisville slugger she kept in there for safety. Creeping out into the hall, she made her way towards her son's bedroom. Maybe, she was just hearing things, but she wanted to make sure Charlie was safe._

_"Mommy," she heard her son shriek at the top of his lungs. Dropping the bat, Natalie ran to her son's room pushing her way roughly through the door only for someone to grab her from behind and place a rag over her mouth. Natalie watched struggling in horror as the man holding her son jumped out his bedroom window. As Natalie was blacking out, she heard the one holding her tell her that if she, herself, even tried to help Reuben then she would never see her son again. _

* * *

_"Reuben!"_

_"Partner," Reuben shouted in return._

_"Reuben," said the shorter man, who must have been Willy Bank, "Oh, so good of you to come."_

_"Of course," Reuben answered, "Of course, I have more items for my punch list. I have so much energy; I can hardly sleep from the excitement."_

_"Where are you at with the visas for the chefs," Willy asked, a small smile on his face._

_"My man in Washington says they'll be stamped by the time we open," Reuben assured his partner._

_"No, no, nope, not good enough."_

_"That's what I said," Reuben answered, pulling out a set of documents from his breast pocket, showing them to Willy with a large smile on his face. Willy took them in his hands, and quickly skimmed them over before handing them to the associate that had brought Reuben to him._

_"Oh, that's good and the chandeliers?"_

_"My ex-wife's new brother-in-law, you don't need the details, it's done," Reuben exclaimed, "Half price, they're already at the warehouse. And because I know it mattered to you, I appeared before the city council, the one way street leading away from the rear entrance, now leads towards the rear entrance. All roads lead to the Midas."_

_"This is perfect."_

_"Great views from up here," Reuben said, looking around the construction site, "Where's the partner's desk goin' to be?"_

_"No partner's desk…"_

_"Two desks?"_

_"No, two desks, one desk," Willy stated, "One chairmen's desk. One." Reuben looked at Willy with curiosity._

_"The arrangement is changing," Willy explained, "Was changed. As a matter of fact there is no arrangement."_

_"Natalie said that you would try and screw me," Reuben mused, "That you had done it to every one of your partners, but I defended you, I said 'Nah, me and Willy Bank been around long enough that we both shook Sinatra's hand.' And there's a code amongst guys that shook Sinatra's hand."_

_"Screw Sinatra's hand."_

_"Screw Sinatra's hand," Reuben repeated._

_"You're dead weight," Willy stated clear as day, "You think I'm gonna carry you and pay you at the same time. Reuben, you're out."_

_"Never, this is my land."_

_"Was," Willy corrected, "Was your land. You signed it over to the corporation."_

_"For fifty percent interest."_

_"Which I'm going to ask you to sign over to me for a small cash payment," Willy explained, pointing at the contract that his associate was now holding. Reuben looked at the associate and then down at the contract._

_"I'm not signin' that," Reuben argued, "Get out of here, I'm not signin' that." Reuben looked in between Willy and his associate._

_"What are you gonna do," Reuben asked, "Throw me off the roof."_

_"Well, I don't have to," Willy said, "You see before I came here tonight, I got myself a little insurance; if you don't sign the land over to me, that little piece of eye candy you have livin' with you is never going to see her little boy again." Reuben looked at Willy horrified. Natalie knew not to trust Bank and now her son was the one paying the price._

_"This is wrong," he said, "This is all wrong." He grabbed the pen from the associate and signed the contract, as much as it hurt him to do, but he knew Natalie and Charlie were the ones who had the shorter end of the stick._

_"What about Charlie," Reuben asked, as he signed the contract._

_"Oh, you and your little eye candy will see him after opening night," Willy stated, "But, only if you and her don't do anything to sabotage me before then."_

_"You're leavin' me with nothing," Reuben said, clutching at his chest._

_"You know you're right," Willy said, "And it's rude." Going into his pocket, he pulled a casino chip out and threw it at Reuben. Reuben caught it and looked at it closely._

_"Here," Willy said, "It's the first batch, just got made." _

_"You changed the name."_

_"I like it better, don't you," Willy shouted in response as he and his associate left the construction site. As they left, Reuben clutched at his chest again, before finally collapsing to the ground._

* * *

Rusty was standing in front of the safe that he was about to rob, when his phone began to ring with a familiar ring tone. Pulling it out of his pocket, he answered it.

"Yeah?"

"_Rusty, I know this probably a bad time_," he heard Danny tell him, "_But-how quickly can you get to Vegas?_"

"Why?"

"_Reuben's had a heart attack and Natalie's there_." Rusty almost dropped his cell phone at those words. He had been looking for her for the majority of the past five years, only doing the odd job here and there to fund his search. To this day, he still didn't understand why she had left. The note she had left gave him no reason or even a clue of where she would be. And now, here was his chance and he was going to take it.

"Gotta go," he said, hanging up his phone and walking out of the store. This job wasn't even going to be worth it. He had a girl he needed to talk to and win back.

* * *

Walking out of the airport and towards Reuben's plane, a cup of coffee in his hand, Rusty smiled when he saw who was waiting for him. Climbing into the plane, he took a seat opposite his best friend.

"What's the latest?"

"Nothing," Danny answered, "She said that the first twenty-four hours…" Danny trailed off and began to fiddle with his wedding band. Rusty knew exactly what had happened.

"Tess understand?"

"It's not her fight."

"Did she understand," Rusty tried again.

"It's not her fight."

"What did Natalie say," Rusty asked, not pushing the topic any farther than Danny would allow. Danny looked at him sadly.

"You're going to have to talk to her," Danny said, "You do not want to hear this from me."

"Well, then just tell me what she told you," Rusty countered. Danny looked at him with a slight glare.

"Reuben got double crossed by Willy Bank and now, they're both paying for it," Danny stated simply, "But, you really need to talk to her, because-"

"Willy Bank," Rusty asked, looking at Danny curiously, "I would have thought she would have known better than to get involved with Willy Bank."

"She did," Danny said, looking out the window as the plane took off, "She's only in this mess because Willy Bank decided to take out some insurance to make sure both she and Reuben have their hands tied behind their backs."

"So, that's why she called you," Rusty said, looking a little hurt that he wasn't the one that got the call. Danny shrugged. Rusty looked at Danny for a moment longer, there was something that he wasn't telling him and by the look of it, he was going to have to wait until he could talk to Natalie to know what it was.

* * *

"Hey," Linus greeted as both Rusty and Danny made their way off the plane with their bags, and began walking towards the car that he had rented when he had first arrived. He looked at the plane as Danny climbed down the steps.

"Hey, where's Tess?"

"It's not her fight," Danny snapped.

"Whoa!"

"Any change," Rusty asked, getting into the car.

"Well, he's in critical condition, but he's still alive," Linus explained, walking over to the driver's side door, "You know if he doesn't-"

"Is Stan there," Danny asked, not wanting to hear Linus' negativity.

"Yeah, he's been there an hour."

"Stan, will tell us what's going on."

"So," Linus started, as he pulled away from the airplane, "Rus, you excited to see Natalie again?" Rusty looked to Linus and then back out the window.

"Yeah, but we got to see Reuben first."

"She's already at the hospital," both Danny and Linus answered, but Linus was the one that continued.

"Stan's worried about the effects that the chloroform had on her," Linus explained, "She woke up to the hospital calling her and letting her know about Reuben, but Stan said there are still traces of chloroform in her body and the fact that she's having trouble with anxiety right now isn't helping her." Danny looked at Linus worried.

"She didn't tell me anything about chloroform when she called me about Reuben and Charlie."

"Oh, so you now about Charlie," Linus said, turning towards the hospital, "And well, she didn't remember about the chloroform until after she got to the hospital and almost passed out. Stan ran a few tests and when he told her, that's when she remembered the cloth over her mouth."

"Whose Charlie," Rusty asked from the backseat looking confused, "What happened?"

"Charlie's Natalie's son," Linus answered, as Danny started shaking his head, "And she's guessing that Willy Bank had him kidnapped as his insurance policy against any kind of sabotage." Rusty looked dumbfounded. Natalie had a son?

* * *

"Mild Cardiac Infarction," Stan explained to the group. Natalie had stepped out for a moment upon seeing Rusty and her father. By the way that Rusty couldn't even look at her when he entered the hospital room, she knew he knew about Charlie and was most likely angry with her about it. She would be to; leaving him nothing, but a note saying goodbye and not a single reason why and the engagement ring she had fallen in love with, yeah she would definitely be angry with her too.

"He's endured an incredible shock to his system," Stan continued, "Can he recover? Yes. Will he recover? It helps if there is something to live for. Family?" Stan looked at the group. They all shrugged their shoulders. From what they knew Natalie had been staying with Reuben since her disappearance and that she had a son, but none of them knew what truly happened, so they couldn't really answer if there was any family.

"He doesn't have any," Natalie explained, entering the room, her eyes were a deep red and she was clutching at her arms. The only piece of jewelry she had on was a gold necklace that had the charm, '#1 Mom,' hanging from it that she hadn't taken off since that first Mother's Day. Rusty watched her intently as she walked towards Reuben's bed, standing beside her father, but not looking at anyone, but Stan.

"Friends then" Stan said, looking at Natalie, who was still looked pale from having blood drawn, "Maybe that'll be enough."

"Reuben, he always was too trusting," Saul said, placing a hand on Natalie's shoulder. She looked up at him with a small frown.

"Is, Saul, is," she corrected.

"Of course is," Saul agreed, looking down at Reuben. Yen started snapping at Natalie, but she still had no clue what he had saying.

"You try talkin' him out of it next time," Rusty answered for her. Natalie looked up at Rusty. For just a moment they shared a small look, before quickly looking away. They were going to have to talk sooner or later, but they had a more pressing issue; Willy Blank and Charlie.

* * *

"Look, Bank, hurt Reuben and kidnapped my grandson leaving my daughter in this situation and I know she can't deal with by herself," Danny stated, "And I know how that makes me feel. I know what that makes me want to do."

"Well, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do," Turk cut across, "I'm gonna get close to Bank and I don't care if it gets messy. He brought a small kid into this…"

"I'll drive you," Virgil added, "We'll get him when he goes to his barber."

"Good, then I'll inject him," Livingston offered.

"Yeah, and I'll find a spot to get rid of the body," Basher finished.

"All valid ideas," Rusty stated, "Great initiative, but-"

"But, even though Bank stepped over the line, we have to do what's best for Reuben and Charlie," Danny continued.

"Which means we offer Bank, the Billy Martin," Rusty said, trying his best not to curl his hands into fists. The last thing he wanted to do was let Bank get off scot free, but the Billy Martin was the best course of action for all involved.

"Wait a minute," said Turk, "And then what, he goes for it, Natalie and Rusty get their son back and there are no consequences if he does it again?"

"Those are the rules," Linus reasoned, finally speaking up.

"No, those are the rules for someone who understands the rules," Basher argued, "Which Bank don't, because he obviously broke 'em, so he don't get the chance."

"I think for Reuben and Charlie, we give him the chance."

"Whoa, hold on a second," Rusty said, holding his hands up, "When did Charlie become mine and Natalie's son? I haven't seen her in five years…" Turk threw Rusty Reuben's wallet, which he had taken to see if there was anything worth knowing about inside. Inside the wallet were two tiny photos of Natalie and Charlie. One was at a baseball game she had taken Charlie to and the other was a black and white photo dating farther back. On the back was a date that was only a few months after the Benedict heist. Taking the photos out of the wallet, which he threw back at Turk, Rusty walked into the house.

"Natalie," he called as he entered.

"She's in the young master's room, sir," said Reuben's butler. Rusty nodded his thanks and made his way throughout the house, as soon as he passed the large home theatre, he heard sobbing. Following the sobbing, he came to a small room that was decorated for a young boy who dreamed of being a superhero. There on the tiny bed was Natalie clutching at a stuffed walrus with a cape on. Rusty frowned.

"Natalie," he said, sitting down beside her.

"Oh god," Natalie gasped, when he grabbed her shoulder, "Rusty, you scared me."

"Sorry, I just…I just…I guess I just wanted to know where Charlie's father was," Rusty asked, "I thought maybe he'd want to help get his son back." Natalie looked up at him and then bit her lip.

"You already know don't you," Natalie asked, looking up at him. Rusty smiled at her.

"Yeah," he answered, "Why didn't you tell me? We would have figured something out…we would have been fine. We had just stolen twenty-six million dollars for ourselves, Natalie, why did you just run off?"

"Do you remember the conversation we had the day of the heist where I asked you if you ever thought about having kids," Natalie answered, "Do you remember what you told me?" Rusty looked at her for a moment and thought back to that day.

"I told you that I never really saw myself as a father," Rusty stated, closing his eyes, realizing just why she had run away, "That I wasn't even sure if I wanted them. That's why you ran away, you didn't know if I was going to make you…Nat, baby, I never would have done that, but you took that decision into your own hands and I've missed five years of my kid's life. Five years, Natalie, how do I get that back?" Natalie flinched every time Rusty snapped at her; the stuffed walrus she had been crying into earlier was still in her hands.

"His name is Charles Daniel Robert Ryan, but he calls himself Daring Dash," she answered, a small smile creeping onto her face even though Rusty had just yelled at her, "Daring Dash with his sidekick Titanic Tip." Rusty looked at her for a moment before breaking out into a smile.

"Oh god, I missed you," he told her, before grabbing her face into his hands and kissing her with ounce of emotion that he ever felt towards her. Natalie gasped, but quickly returned the kiss, clutching at him afraid that he would disappear.

Pulling away from her, Rusty dug her engagement ring out of his pocket and placed it back on her finger.

"Don't ever take that off again."


	2. II: No More Running Away

Chapter Two: No More Running Away

* * *

"I need answers, before I ask questions," Bank snapped at his construction manager, "You get that. Alright? Do it." The construction manager quickly left and Bank turned towards Danny. Looking down at his blue prints, he thought for a moment before looking back at Danny.

"So," Bank started, "Some guys I take seriously told me, you're a serious guy."

"Right, well, I want what's most important to me is that Reuben get's his share of the hotel restored and that my grandson gets returned to his mother tonight," Danny explained, "Now, I'm here to give you a chance to do that."

"Oh yeah, you're here to give me a chance," Bank chuckled, looking down at his blue prints, "Okay, the Billy Martin, I pass. The last time I looked and I look every morning; it was my name listed as owner on more valuable property in this state, then anyone else in history."

"Which means you got a lot more to lose."

"Oh, but I don't lose," Bank assured Danny, "People, who bet on me to lose, lose and they lose big. You come at me, you better know I move quick and when I do I slice like a goddamn hammer."

"So, you're not gonna make Reuben whole and return a little boy to his mother," Danny asked.

"If Reuben was too weak or too stupid to see what was comin' down, then you know what," Bank asked, "He doesn't belong here. He's made the right choice to roll over and die; let him be. And as for your grandson, your daughter was told that her son will be returned to her on the night of our grand opening. If she does anything to sabotage this opening, then I will make sure myself that that little boy never sees his mother again."

"Fine," Danny relented, "But, how do we know Charlie's okay?"

"Oh, your daughter will know."Bank turned his back on Danny finished with the conversation. Danny looked at the man with a steely gaze, before taking off his construction hat, leaving the site. They gave him a chance.

* * *

"Tell me about him," Rusty asked, as he continued to sit with Natalie in their son's room. Natalie smiled sadly.

"He is so much like you, Rusty," Natalie explained, "He has the same little nervous ticks that you do and he just has so much energy. Likes to play by the rules and break them at the same time."

"He gets that from both of us, Natty," Rusty said, with a tiny smile. Natalie chuckled, a single tear rolling down her cheek, as she continued to clutch at the stuffed walrus in her hands.

"Tip," she explained, when Rusty took the stuffed walrus into his own hands, "Daring Dash's sidekick. I bought it for him, the week before I went into labour. He reminded me so much of you actually."

"A stuffed walrus reminded you of me," Rusty said, holding the walrus up to his face.

"It was the colour the manufacturer chose for the eyes," Natalie explained, pointing at the faded eyes on the stuffed animal, "They use to be the same colour as yours and our son's."

"He has my eyes," Rusty asked. Natalie nodded.

"He could be you in miniature," she joked, showing him a more recent photo that she had on her phone from the day that Charlie had been taken. He was sitting in a patio chair by the pool wearing one of her fedoras. Rusty looked at the picture with misty eyes.

"I wish I could have met him under better circumstances," Rusty said, still looking at the picture of the little boy smiling as he ate a very large chocolate sundae.

"I was so stupid, Rusty," Natalie said, "I should've told you. I should've let you make the choice if you wanted to be a father or not and now we're in this mess, because I dragged Reuben into keeping my secret and I've put Charlie in so much danger." She began to sob once more. Rusty kind of agreed with her, but he wasn't going to say anything though, she was already beating herself up over everything.

"Oh god," she sobbed, into his shoulder, "I am such a bad mother."

"A bad mother wouldn't be worried about her son," Rusty reasoned, wrapping his arms around her, "A bad mother wouldn't be sitting in her son's room crying because she can't do anything to get her son back. A bad mother wouldn't have called in some of the greatest cons she knew to get her son back." Natalie sniffled a little.

"We'll get him back, Natty," Rusty assured her, "And then the three of us will be the family that we should've been. No more running away?"

"No more running away," she agreed.

* * *

_Six Months Later…_

* * *

"Well," Natalie said, a slight smile on her face at seeing her old school friend, "Thanks for commin'."

"Thanks for the hundred grand," he told her, giving her a small kiss on the cheek, "I'm sorry to hear about Charlie."

"Not now, Roman," she told him, leading him into the living room where her father and Rusty were waiting for her.

"Roman, this is my father and my fiancée," Natalie said, pointing to each man in turn, "Roman and I went to school together. He's probably the best solution to our problem."

"This takes longer than a day though," Roman told her, after shaking hands with Danny and Rusty, "We'll have to renegotiate." Natalie rolled her eyes at Roman, before grabbing his ear and twisting it as hard as she could causing both of his knees to buckle in pain.

"Why don't we keep it at the hundred grand," Natalie suggested, "And I won't tell your wife about the wireless webcam you tried to put in my bathroom the last time you were here."

"What," both Rusty and Danny snapped, glaring at Roman.

"It's fine," she assured them, letting go of Roman's here, "Charlie found him and stole the actual camera before he had the chance to actually install the thing. Do we have an agreement, Roman?"

"Yes, yes," he agreed, "Just don't ever do that again. You haven't lost any of that strength since high school. Just us four?"

"For now," Natalie answered, "We figured that we would talk to you first."

"Good lord," Roman mused, "How stuck are you?"

"Stuck."

"Stalled, really," Rusty corrected.

"Stuck," Danny repeated.

"Run it for me," Roman ordered, "Don't leave anything out. Give me the big picture." Putting his hands behind his head, he leaned back in his chair and got as relaxed as possible with the pain that was still shooting through his ear.

"Do you want to," Rusty asked,

"It's all yours," Natalie said.

"Where should we start," Danny asked.

"The hotel."

"Alright."

"Bank is swinging for the fences on this one. Forget weekenders and conventioneers, he built this place for whales. It's a shoe in for the five diamond award," Danny started before looking at Natalie.

"The marble was handpicked in Italy and the chefs stolen from the highest rated restaurants in China. In the Villas reserved for the big players, the silverware is actually gold."

"Bank's greatest strength is also his weakness, ego," Danny explained, "He's been spending his days checking and re-checking every inch of the property getting ready for the grand opening celebration. It's a compulsion."

"Bank's right hand man  
is actually a woman," Natalie said, biting her lip slightly, "Our old principal, Ms. Abigail Sponder-"

"Oh dear lord not that old bat, she's an absolute nightmare," Roman interrupted, "Does she still call everyone baby doll?"

"That's what I said," Natalie responded, "And by the sound of things, yes."

* * *

_"We're going to have to let you go," Sponder explained to the waitress, feeling the slight fat that was on her arms._

_"I only gained four pounds," the waitress begged, "You can't."_

_"Well your body mass index is not what it's supposed to be."_

_"But, but," the waitress stuttered, "Mrs. Sponder."_

_"Oh no baby doll, it's your butt that's the problem."_

_"You can't fire no waitress based on appearance," Frank vented, "That's just unconstitutional."_

_"If they were waitresses," Danny responded._

_"Yeah," Linus agreed, "They're actually hired as 'models who serve,' so that Bank can monitor their physical appearance."_

_"It's a cruel, cruel practice," Rusty responded, looking down at Natalie, who was resting by the pool looking at photos of Charlie on her phone, while still clutching at the stuffed walrus that never left her side._

_"So, between Bank and Sponder, they got the place covered."_

_"When's opening night," Saul asked._

_"July 3rd," everyone answered._

_"They've got fireworks at the stroke of midnight, the whole shebang," Danny continued._

_"But, we're going in now," Saul asked confused, "It's already open."_

_"No," Natalie answered, "It's a soft opening; to test the place before the grand opening."_

_"Yeah, it's kind of like an out of town preview, but only it's in town," Linus tried._

_"Soft opening, grand opening, when they opened the Flamingo, one day it was closed, the next it was open, end of story," Saul complained, "I know, I was there."_

_"Well, it's different now," Natalie said, shaking her head._

_"So, when's opening night," Saul asked again._

_"July 3rd."_

* * *

"Now, the top casinos can clear three million dollars a day just on the floor," Danny explained, "Bank with his high level players and no limits, is projecting five."

"In exchange for the loans," Natalie continued, "He had to give up six of the nine seats on the board, so he doesn't control his own company and a couple of the guys he brought in aren't friendlies. So, he has to clear five hundred million in the first quarter or he gets dumped out of his own hotel."

"Of course," Roman said, "Bank wants another five diamond award, fifth in a row. So, how are you gonna get the diamonds?"

"We're not," Rusty answered.

"We thought about it for a minute," Danny explained, "And then we decided it was-"

"Impossible without risking Charlie," Rusty finished, "Natalie immediately shot down the idea."

"Besides," Natalie said, looking at Rusty who had been against the idea just as much as she had, "He's not going to be winning anymore. Tell him about, Debbie."

"Yes," Roman said intrigued, "Tell me about, Debbie."

"Debbie is the concierge at the Bank," Rusty explained, "She's very ambitious, in a good way, for us. As soon as I said the word general manager and McCow, she was in. I put a cherry on top to make sure."

"We found out who would be reviewing the hotel," Natalie continued, "We're gonna get to him before Bank can."

* * *

_"I feel bad," Turk admitted, as he entered the room in a waiter's outfit that had been borrowed from the hotel, "It's like torture."_

_"This is war, kid," Saul told him, "There's going to be collateral damage and he gets the Susan B Anthony at the airport." Saul continued to fiddle with the speaker trying to get it hooked up to the remote that he was also holding. Natalie looked at him and shook her head grabbing it out of his hands and started to fiddle with it herself._

_"Yeah, I know," Turk conceded, "But, he doesn't know that."_

_"So," Natalie said, finally getting what she needed in place, "What he has to know why he won to enjoy it? Who says?"_

_"Alright," Turk relented, "So, you'd go through that for ten million?" Natalie looked at him and handed Saul the remote and speaker._

_"No," she answered, "But I'd go through it for eleven million."_

* * *

"Now, we found out that Bank is tapped into the federal finger print database," Rusty said, picking at some junk food, only for Natalie to move it away from him. Danny chuckled under his breath; they were the same as they were five years ago.

"Highly illegal," Roman commented.

"We came up with a way to piggy back his system between fire wall checks," he continued, glaring at Natalie playfully. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"There's very cheap stuff out there," Natalie told him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, what else?"

"We're gonna get his whales," Danny said, speaking with his mouth full, causing Natalie to throw her hands up in the air and mutter something along the lines of not even knowing him and that's where he gets it from.

"How?"

"I talked to Danny Shields," Natalie explained. Roman looked at her in surprise.

"Danny Shields," Roman asked in shock, "You're ex-boyfriend, Danny Shields?" Rusty and Danny looked at her. They had been unaware of this little fact. She looked at both of them, before answering Roman.

"It was during high school," she explained, "A huge error in judgement."

"You talked to Danny Shields," Roman asked, still in shock, "Even after he bragged about what never actually happened after the big game and ruined your reputation at Bournemouth?"

"We need him," she reasoned.

* * *

_"I shouldn't have said anything, Natty," Shields apologized, "And then, Brad started askin' questions and started calling me a pussy and I guess I just-"_

_"Danny, look," Natalie said, holding up her hand to get him to stop, "No way to know what was going to happen."_

_"Oh come on," Shields responded, "I feel really-"_

_"It's okay," she told him, "Let it go."_

_"The other stuff I got taken care of, it's all straight," Shields said, forgetting about their past, "I got eighteen whales. I spoke to their handlers, I spoke to their managers, I spoke to their assistants. Every one of them is going to leave. We're going to do it in two tiers. I'm gonna leave first and they're goin' to follow."_

_"Okay..."_

_"Okay," Shields agreed, "But, you gotta make sure they win, 'cause these guys usually lose and when they lose they get comped."_

_"They're gonna win big."_

* * *

"How big?"

"Five hundred million," Danny answered.

"That night," Roman asked, "Just the premier?"

"No," Rusty and Danny answered together.

"No," Natalie continued, "It's a reverse big store."

"Right…"

"It doesn't matter if we win," Rusty started.

"As long as the casino loses," Roman finished, following their line of thought, "Yes, yes, that could actually work, so you need to rig-"

"Craps, blackjack, roulette, slots," Danny finished.

* * *

_"Now, this polymer reacts to ultrasonic pulses," Basher explained to Virgil, "But, it's not metallic so the compasses on the table won't detect it and it won't affect the weight when they make the dice. Now, this…" Basher held up a torch lighter._

_"Not really a lighter," Virgil asked. Basher smiled and flipped the lip open and then closed; the polymer cube that was in a glass in front of Virgil flipped._

* * *

"But," Roman interrupted, "Dice are controlled from the manufacturer all the way to the floor."

"Which is why we went all the way to the manufacturer," Danny answered.

"So, that's not your problem," Roman mused, "So, you're jammed on blackjack."

"We've embedded Livingston in the shuffle company," Natalie said, a smirk on her face. Roman was beginning to dig. He wanted in, and he wanted to help, but now he wanted to know exactly where they were stuck.

* * *

_"Now, the tack will stimulate your EKG similar to the way a lie would," Natalie explained, handing Livingston the tack that he needed to place in his shoe, "But, you have to step on it during the control questions, your name, your birthday and so on; so, that those levels will match the stress levels in your false answers._

_"Got it," Livingston answered, placing the tack inside his shoe, "How much is this going to hurt?" Natalie looked down and smiled._

_"If you're doing it right," she answered, "It should be pretty excruciating." _

_"Is your birth date February 11th, 1965?"_

_"Yes," Livingston answered in an extreme amount of pain._

_"Are you wearing a white shirt?"_

_"Yes," Livingston answered once more, still in an extreme amount of pain._

_"Have you ever been involved in the commission of a crime?"_

_"No," Livingston lied, now free from needing to step on the tack._

_"Have you ever defrauded or attempted to defraud the gaming industry?"_

_"No," Livingston lied once more._

_"Alex?"_

_"All good," answered the technician._

_"I love technology," the interviewer mused, "Just to look at you, I swear you were being evasive, but the machine says you're clean."_

_"I'm just a little nervous. I really want this job."_

_"You can relax now," the interviewer assured him, "Welcome to Shuffle Royale."_

* * *

"The Shuffle Royale," Roman mused, "I doubt I've heard the last of that one. So, if blackjack is not your problem, it must be slots. Progressers run on computer chips now, we're gonna have to program in a trap door. I can probably find you someone to do that."

"Thanks," Danny said, his arms crossed, "We got somebody on the inside. A great kid by the name of Eugene, whose got a little too much down time."

"He's got a nice little online gaming tab," Rusty said, "And he won't be able to keep it a secret much longer."

* * *

_"Now, I have no, um, yeah, it's crazy," Eugene stuttered._

_"How bad is it," Danny asked._

_"Uh, it's bad," Eugene answered, throwing his hands around wildly, as the two stood in the alleyway, "I owe thirty thousand dollars, so it may as well be a hundred." Danny pulled an envelope of cash out of his jacket and threw it at Eugene._

_"Alright," he said, "Let's call it a hundred."_

_"Are you-thanks Danny," Eugene said, looking at the large amount of cash that now sat in his hands._

_"Eugene, my pleasure," Danny answered, "Now, tell me how you're going to program that trap door."_

* * *

"So, if that's not your problem, it must be roulette," Roman guessed once more, "Having your hand in that game is having an inferred scanner in the shoe, while having a micro computer somewhere on your person. It figures the probability of where the wheels will land within three digits."

"Yeah," Natalie said, "We…we tried that."

"In all fairness," Rusty said, wrapping an arm around her, "The way he was dressed didn't help."

"Not very subtle, this guy."

"So, you're stuck on roulette."

"No," Natalie replied, "We're goin' low-fy. We figured we'd get some loaded balls in there."

"Kidding," Roman asked, "How are you gonna deliver?"

* * *

**A/N: Hi Everyone, **

**It's finally here, the long awaited sequel to 'The Love of A Daughter,' I know it's not completely written yet, but I decided that I would post what I have finished, and then hopefully after the Holiday Season is over, I'll be able to finish and post the rest of the story. **

**Enjoy xo**


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